OK so next weekend I have a birthday party to go to in the wild and forbidding land of Lancashire, my brother in law's 65th as it happens which is in a pub somewhere so I get to stand around with a whole load of people I don't know trying to get bladdered on some godawful nitrokeg crap.
I thought that rather than driving up on Saturday morning I could maybe take the train from London after work and then back to my place behind the water-pipes in Norfolk sometime on Sunday. Turns out I can so long as I fancy six hours on a train and changing at Hebden Bridge, Leeds, Peterborough, Ely and frigging Narnia Parkway on the way home but for the privilege of this they want to charge me over 160 quid. And that's second class. And gods help you if you miss one of those connections because you'll be well and truly screwed.
According to google maps it's 199 miles door to door and takes three and a half hours. So even if I take the 2 litre 210 BHP Saab I'm looking at 60 quid in fuel - everything else is sunk cost as I've paid the tax, insurance, maintenance etc. by just having the car.
So 100 quid cheaper than the train, I go and come back when I want, it's quicker, is door to door and I don't have to take a chance on sitting next to some pissed-up Glaswegian on the journey up.
Bit of a no brainer don't you think. Sorry planet, you're fucked.
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4 comments:
Surely you can now find real ale in a Lancashire pub, I thought it was nationwide. Your neighbours at Bury St Edmonds send their excellent ales all around our country.
Forget the train, your car will always be the better choice. All public transport is bad for going cross-country, it is okay for going to Birmingham, Glasgow or London but anywhere else suffers because it is ran on a "hub system" - similar to parcel delivery - maybe once a day, take it or leave it.
Surprisingly it's still not that easy to get a decent pint of real ale in Burnley. I know the pub that we're going to for this birthday do and although last time I was there they has Old Speckled Hen on it wasn't kept well at all. Burnley even has it's own real ale brewery (Moorhouses) but everything I've ever had from them has the colour, consistency and taste of old engine oil as they seem to brew for high alcohol content.
Which is understandable as last time I was up there everyone seemed to be drinking Wife Beater. Ho Hum.
Don't forget to pass on my best regards to the OAP plumber - only joking.
Sounds to me like you need a couple of 4 pint carry outs from a decent pub to go with you. a night on wifebeater Agh...........
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